Search This Blog

Ahmedabad Rath Yatra in Gujarat

Talk about Ratha Yatra (Hindu car or chairot festival) and the first image that comes to mind is the famous Puri Jagannath Rath Yatra. In 2018, Ahmedabad Ratha Yatra is on July 14. The State of Gujarat in India also conducts Rath Yatra similar to the one held in Puri and the most famous is the Ahmedabad Rath Yatra. In Gujarat, Rath Yatra is also held at towns and cities like Bhavnagar, Vadodara, Gandhinagar, Surat and Porbandar.

The Puri Rath Yatra and the Ratha Yatras in Gujarat take place on the same day. Three chariots with the idols of Lord Jagannath (Krishna), Balarama (Balabhadra) and Subhadra are pulled by the devotees through the city. Thousands of devotees throng the streets on the day to have a ‘darshan’ of the deities.

The Ahmedabad Rath Yatra has been taking place for more than 130 years. It starts from the Jagannath temple in Jamalpur locality in Ahmedabad city and passes through a 14 kilometer route. One of the main attractions during Ahmedabad Rath Yatra is the procession of caparisoned elephants.

Decorated elephants take part in almost all the important rituals associated with the Ahmedabad Rath Yatra. Another important feature is the participation of Akhada Sadhus and Mahants and the numerous floats with different themes.

After a day-long procession, the chariots with deities return to the JamalpurJagannathTemple.